Spyro and Cynder: The Path for Love
by Ultimate Rising Phoenix
Summary: Instead of being defeated and imprisoned in the crystal, Malefor is purified from his darkness, and now, the world is safe from the evil that once plaggued it. Now, Spyro and Cynder become the protectors of the peace and safety into the Dragon Realms, and during their job, they meet new and old faces, and they grow, as Spyro starts to mature and face his true feelings for Cynder...
1. Purification

"You cannot defeat me! I am eternal!" Malefor cried with all of his might, before he cumulated a great amount of Convexity into his mouth, and liberated a powerful beam of the purest Convexity energy aimed right into the two dragons.

Spyro and Cynder looked ahead, at the attack which was coming straight at them, and they both, as if they were just one, opened their mouths and released their own convexity breaths, which collided with Malefor's.

The walls and rocks all around them shook as the energies collided, the raw power being enough to leave any regular adult dragon stunned by the sheer force that was emitted from there. However, none of the dragons present was a regular dragon, and so, they all continued to what they were doing.

Malefor continued to breathe the power of his Convexity over the two young dragons, using all the power he had into that attack, to destroy these two dragons. Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder were using the power of every fiber of their bodies, taking from themselves a power that neither of them knew that they had, to clash with the energy from that sinister convexity that was threw at them, and avoid the destruction.

They couldn't afford to go weak now. They couldn't afford to lose and let all that they loved being destroyed. They had many thigns and people they wanted to protect. Their home. The life they made. The friends they have made. All the people that they swore that they would save and that they would keep safe from the darkness.

They could not afford to lose now. Not after all the people who had made so much efforts and who sacrificed so much so they could have be in there for that very same moment.

That was the main difference between them and the purple dragon who was attacking them: they had something that was worth fighting for. They had all of that and much more that made losing not be an option, and that made them want to fight until the bitter end. That was what made them dug into their own souls for a power that they never imagined that they could have.

"Just… hang… on…" Spyro said, as the Convexity was still coming out from his mouth. His words echoed into both him and Cynder much more than any other sound would be able to, and soon, both the young dragons were starting to make progress. They slowly advanced in direction to the attacker, who was now using all the power he had too try to push the Convexity against the two little dragons who were threatening him.

However, he soon was finding himself fighting a lost battle, for the two young dragons were actually making the tides turn against him.

As the two young dragons flapped their wings, putting themselves closer and closer to Malefor, their Convexity was making advances against the bigger and much older purple dragon. Malefor could barely believe that such young dragons could be able to keep up with his power, even if they had the advantage of two versus one. That was something thst caught him completely off guard.

Spyro and Cynder now had accessed more power than anyone would think possible. They both roared loudly as the Convexity breath became bigger and ever more powerful. That made Malefor widened his eyes, as he tried to answer with equal power, however, he realized, for his own despair, that he had already hit his limits with his own power.

He could not use any more energy than he was already using, but the two young dragons seemed not to have that problem. Malefor could not understand. His mind was unable to process how they could do such a thing, and where they were taking all that energy from, and how they could still use so much power after such a long fight.

That was something that completely escaped him, and that he was unable to understand at all.

However, he didn't had time to think about it, as he saw these two, gigantic beams of Convexity flying in his direction, and horror filled his mind as his eyes widened.

"NOOOOOOOO!" He cried out as he was hit dead on by the gigantic beam, a beam of pure convexity that travelled all through his body, washing him into the harming energy. However, as that happened, the energy made much more than only damage his body. It was like it was much more than a single attack. It was like it was traveling through him and hitting him from the inside, passing by him. Passing by his very soul.

All that Malefor was able to do was keep his mouth open into a mute scream as the energy washed over him like nothing else would ever be able to do. He barely had time to think as his eyes rolled back, both glowing, and his eyelids closed.

He was propelled back by the attack, and he landed on his back, reeling into the crystal of the center of the planet, as unconscious as a doorknob. The two dragons finally stopped their colossal attack, and they both took gasping breaths as they both floated and landed, both panting as they looked at the uncousncious form of the Dark Master.

"We did…" Cynder said between pants as she looked at the defeated dragon. "Spyro, we did it."

However, Spyro barely heard her, he was too busy looking at Malefor. Now that he was laying, Spyro was noticing something different about him. Something that made it different from when they were fighting.

There was definitely something different with that dragon, and Spyro was able to evaluate it as he approached the dragon. Could he be dead?

No. Spyro could still see him breathing. It was not that. The only reason why Spyro didn't attacked when saw that he was still alive was because of the unsettling difference that he could notice. It was like it was gone. It was like the aura-

However, Spyro too was unable to finish his trail of thought, because soon, they both felt a huge quake, as they were reminded of the dire situation that they both, and everyone else, by the way, were into. The world was breaking apart, literally. All the world in which the dragons and all the other creatures lived was fragmenting itself into pieces, and Spyro and Cynder were into a crystal right in the center of everything, and they could see fully well the whole situation.

"Spyro." Cynder said, as the panic coursed through her as she saw just what kind of damage had been done to the world. She looked at Spyro, who looked around with a look of complete hopelessness.

"We failed." He said, more to himself than to anyone else. He lowered himself, letting the weihght of his great failure sink into him, and knowing that he had completely failed with his mission and his only purpose of existence, which was to prevent something like that from happening. In the end, it was all for nothing. Malefor had done what he wanted, and he had destroyed the world, into his own distorted perception of the mission of a purple dragon, and there was nothing that Spyro could do now.

Nothing…

That was when Spyro heard a voice, a very familiar voice. One that he thought that he would never be able to hear again.

 _Spyro. When a dragon dies, he doesn't really leaves this world. He returns to the earth, and brings new life. A new hope for the future._

Hearing these words made Spyro open his eyes, both in shock and realization. Both for the familiar voice that he heard in this moment of despair, as for realization, for he knew pretty well what he had to do.

Return to earth.

Spyro needed to return his own power to the earth, the power that was drained away from it, and that was needed to keep the world alive. Spyro had no idea of how he knew all of these things, but he knew them, and he knew what was needed to do. He knew that it was risky, and that he could not survive. Still, he had to do it, because it was his true duty as a purple dragon. It was his destiny.

"Cynder, get out of here." He said to the black dragoness, knowing that it was not going ot be safe being in there.

"No! Spyro, lets run away!"

"To where, Cynder?" Spyro asked her, "The world is breaking apart. But I think I can fix it." Indeed, Spyro was pretty sure that he could do it, that he could fix the world and fulfill the mission that many risked and gave their lives to see happening. He could save the world and everyone who he loved, and that included Cynder.

Te black dragoness looked back at him, and she saw that she could not do or say anything that would make Spyro change his mind. So, she said the words that would define her fate.

"So I'm with you."

She had already went through a lot with Spyro, and she had faced things that would made many other dragons turn around and run, and she had passed through a lot with him by her side. She was not going to leave him now. She was going to be by his side till the end, no matter what happened, she was not going to leave him.

Spyro could see this decision clear in her eyes, and he knew that it was no use trying to convince her to leave. He simply sighed, and he thought that maybe it was it. That was how his story finally ended, with a heroic sacrifice for the world.

Closing his eyes, Spyro gathered all that was left of power in him, convoking the elements in him. All the ones that he knew, and even other, which Spyro himself had no idea that even existed, and they all gathered into him, forming a strong white light.

Cynder looked at Spyro as he glowed, and he started to levitate from the ground, as the light became more and more intense, and started to spread to all the place in which they were in. Cynder klnew that it could very well be the end. She accepted it, and that was why she needed to say these words.

While she could still breathe and talk them, while Spyro still could hear her. Independent of the result of what was happening in there, no matter the outcome, she knew that this could be her last and only chance to say these words. Words which had been meant to be said for a while, and she needed to make Spyro hear, before it was too late.

"I love you." She whispered, and as soon as she said that, the light flooded the whole place.

The light spread out, like a wave of life and warmth, and it entered into the earth all around them.

The floating broken pieces of the earth were bathed into the energy that was coming straight from the center, and as so, they were starting to move together, as if they were reforming. The pieces of earth which were broken were forming together, but it was much more than that.

All the damage created, or most of it, was being healed. The forests were being enveloped in light and growing anew. The Oceans were being refilled. It was like the world itself was being healed from all the scars which were created by the nightmare that was the reign of the Dark Master. A nightmare from which the world seemed to be finally being able to wake up, and greet a new and beautiful reality.

The prophecy was finally being fulfilled, and the purple dragon named Spyro, was finally saving the world.

However, this great act might prove to come with a great price.

As the energy flowed from Spyro to all around him, the earth was closing in again, and Spyro and Cynder were right in the center of all of that.

Spyro kept emanating light for a while, as Cynder was forced to cover her eyes with her wings to shield them from the light that maybe could blind her. She could feel the energy flowing from Spyro to all around him. She could feel that pure power emanating from him and passing to her and through her, and to the very air around her. And she was not the only one feeling it.

A short distance away, the unconscious purple dragon also was being bathed by this pure energy, which washed over him and somehow refilled him, at the same time that it forced out whatever else was on his being.

After a while, the light finally started to subside, just like the power that was flowing along with it. Cynder noticed, and she lowered her wing slowly. The light was still intense, but it was much more bearable now. And she could see that Spyro was still glowing, seeming a silhouette of pure light.

After a while, the light finally died down, and Spyro dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Spyro!" Cynder immediately went to him, worried, but she was relieved once she saw that the purple dragon was still breathing. She looked around, and saw that the rocks all around them were still pulsing with the power that Spyro had poured down on them. They were still grouping and reforming as they were all reconstructing themselves.

Whatever Spyro had done, it seemed that it had worked, for the world was fixing itself. Spyro had truly done it. He had saved the world.

"Spyro, you did it!" Cynder said, and she saw that they were reforming, and they were sealing the openings among them, including the one that allowed Cynder and Spyro to get in there. Cynder realized that the openings would all close, and if they did before they got out, Spyro and Cynder would both be stuck in there!

"Spyro!" She said, shaking him, "Spyro, we have to go now!"

However, the purple dragon was not getting up. Spyro seemed to be very deep in his unconsciousness. Cynder continued trying to shake him wake, so they could get out of there before it was too late.

"Spyro, wake up! Wake up!" She continued, and as she did, the noise she was making, despite not being enough to make Spyro wake up, seemed to be enough to wake up another dragon which was very nearby.

Malefor was groaning as he got up, feeling all the tiredness which once was into all of his body passing, as if all the feeling that was in there was replaced by something that made him feel nice and refreshed. He slowly got to his feet, as he heard.

"Spyro! The walls are gonna close! If we don't get out now we will be stuck in here forever!" Cynder sad, and Malefor looked up to see the black dragoness shaking the purple dragon, who was laying unconscious. He then looked up, and saw that the black dragoness was right, and soon, all the escape routes would be troubled, and they would all be stuck in there, with little to no hope of getting out, and also a limited amount of oxygen.

"Spyro!" Cynder cried, making Malefor looked back at her as she was shaking Spyro in earnest, trying to wake him up. "Spyro, we need to get out now! Spyro! Wake up!"

Malefor should have used the chance to escape and leave the two young dragons behind in there to be stuck. He should have ran away and let them there to rot in the guts of the earth for all they had done to him.

However, he didn't do that. He didn't felt like doing. Actually, right now, he wasn't able to even consider doing that. He only looked at the two young dragons, as if he had seen both for the first time in his whole life, and as if he was looking at ghosts which appeared right before him.

"Spyro…" Malefor said as he looked at them, with a voice that sounded far different from what it had been a while ago…

"Spyro! Spyro!" Cynder continued to shake him, the walls around them were screaming as the rocks all closed around each other, sealing away all the possible escape routes. "Spyro, you need to wake up! We have to get out-"

However, she was cut short when she felt a big shadow falling over them, and she looked up and gasped at what she saw.

Malefor had raised up, and he was now almost towering over the two young dragons. Cynder barely had time to scream before the big purple dragon reached out, and grabbed both her and Spyro, holding each one in one of his paws.

"Let us go!" Cynder said as she started to squirm, trying to get free from his grasp. She even tried to use her breath weapons, but she discovered that she had used a lot of her power, and now she felt weak. She was not in condition to fight back, and with her size and reduced physical power, she was no match for Malefor on her own.

They were completely at his mercy.

He could simply crush them both and fly out of there to start it all over again.

However, instead of trying to destroy them in any way, he to flight and started to fly in direction to the closing up stones right above them. And so, he started to take the way which would lead to the outside, and all the while, he was carrying both the young dragons in his clutches. However, his grip was different now, it was lighter, more careful, it was almost gentle, as if they were very fragile and Malefor didn't wanted to break them.

However, Cynder barely even minded that. She was too focused on the fact that the enemy that was trying to kill them only a few minutes ago was with them, completely powerless and helpless in their clutches to do as he pleased. That was more than enough to send her into a near frenzy due to the panic.

"Let us go!" Cynder cried out as she dug her claws into the Dark Master's paw, making him cringe and groan as he continued to fly, flapping his wings fast as he carried both the struggling Cynder and the unconscious Spyro into his paws as he flew. He was panting as he continued to fly.

The purple dragoon made several turns and spins in the air, as he was trying to avoid being crushed by the massive continental boulders, which closed in. The fact that there was a lot of molted lava into them did not helped one bit, as Cynder could notice the sweat running down from his body from the heat. The purple dragon had to stop a lot of times to avoid being crushed by a big piece of boulder or washed down by a flux of magma, and look around to find another way that would allow to keep advancing to the surface.

Cynder could only look at the big purple dragon, as she was wondering what he was doing. He already had her and Spyro in his clutches, and they were both unable to fight back or cause him any significant damage to him. He could end them at any moment that he liked and they would be unable to do anything to stop him.

What was he waiting for?

Why he was carrying them like that as if they were a precious cargo? What was the point of that? Cynder could not think of an answer to that, but instead, she retained herself to the worry that they could be either crushed or burned down as they were trying to get out of that place, and that Malefor seemed to be actually wanting to save them.

Cynder could not understand why, but she could only hold tight and hope that the Dark Master would still want to save them at least until they reached the surface and were no longer in immediate danger.

Malefor was flapping his wings, as he was forced to be extra careful with his wings and all the extremities of his body, as not to be hit by a rock or by anything else.

The coming together of the rocks were making some rocks let loose from the boulders which were coming together. While some of them were as small as pebbles, and they didn't represented any danger, some were twice as big as the purple dragon, and he was forced to make sharp spins and turns in order to avoid damage and to be able to continue to fly.

Cynder held tight as the Dark Master made several turns and spins holding them to avoid the rocks, while Spyro simply moved limply as he was into a very deep state of unconsciousness, and was being carried almost as if he was a rag doll, even though it seemed that the Dark Master was being as careful with him as he was with Cynder. The reason, Cynder now barely minded, as she was only worried with the idea of them getting out of there alive and in one piece.

She looked around, as she could see the world passing in them as a blur as they flew in direction to the safety of the surface. She then saw one thing with the corner of her eye.

"Look out!" Cynder cried out, making Malefor look to the side and see what she just saw: a big pillar of rock coming in his direction. He immediately halted in mid air, and the pillar passed in front of him as it crashed into the opposite wall. He looked over, and he flew around the pillar. He didn't had time for it, for the walls were quickly closing in.

He knew that the time was running short, and that he needed to go now, before it was too late.

The purple dragon flapped his wings, as he canalized energy through his body, and then, a huge burst of wind propelled him upwards, as if a gush of wind coming from a hurricane was fueling his wings. Cynder let out a surprised cry which was carried by the wind, and she held on very strongly for her dear life, and she cast a look at Spyro, who was still limp into the paws of the Dark Master as they were flying.

Malefor made several turns and spins into high speed as he was carrying the two young dragons up in direction to the light. The walls around them becoming dangerously closer as the threat of being crushed to death by them was becoming quite real.

He continued, until he could see light. He could see the light and a feel a gush of fresh air. It was the surface, their way out of there. As soon as he saw it, he speed up even more, opening his wings wide as more wind come up from seemingly nowhere and propelled him upwards.

Cynder held tight as she looked around, and she looked around at the walls coming closer, dangerously closer.

"We will not make it!" She cried out without thinking about it, however, a voice said to her. "We will make it!"

It was not Spyro's voice. It was from someone else. It was…

Malefor let out a loud scream as he closed his wings close to his body, the sheer momentum carrying him as he went head-on to the opening which closed. And then, he passed by it, by very few, and he continued on in direction to the sky, as the small opening burst into a pillar of earth and dirt as it closed right beneath him.

They had done it by very little.

Malefor continued to ascend into the air and in direction to the sky, the force that propelled him still on effect. His eyes were closed tightly, and he was greeted by the strong light of the rising sun. Finally, he opened his eyes, letting out a gasp for air, as he could feel the fresh air all around him.

He blinked several times as he looked around, seeing the land being illuminated by the sun which was rising, casting a amber colored glow over the place as it raised to the sky, signaling the start of a new dawn.

Malefor took a deep breath as the force that propelled him upwards was slowly subsiding, and he was coming to a near stand-still position in the air. He looked around at the lands that were now beautiful. When was the last time that he had stopped to look at it? He knew that it had been a long time ago, before he had planned to destroy it all.

That sight was astounding.

However, Malefor had no time to think about it, for soon, the gravity was pulling him back downwards, and he was finding himself falling in direction to the ground below.

Cynder held tight on the whole time, especially as she felt the air rushing past her as they were now all in a free fall in direction to the ground. She was scared that now the Dark Master was finally going to end them.

However, she was once more proved wrong when Malefor, still having a good, but gentle, grip at them, opened his wings and started to flap them lightly, to break the fall very gently. He gently floated in direction to the ground, and he landed safely, standing in his hind paws as he held Spyro and Cynder gently in his front ones.

He had made it.

As soon as he landed, however, Cynder renewed her struggling, and she was screaming loudly. "Let me go now!" She was squirming a lot, and Malefor only looked at her, and he decided to comply.

He gently lowered her to the ground, and let her go, and she immediately jumped to away from him and out of his clutches, and she adopted a fighting pose as she looked at him, ready to fight, even knowing that she had no way of fighting back.

However, Malefor had no attention to her, and he only looked at his other paw, in which was Spyro. The young purple dragon was still limp in his clutches. Malefor looked at him as he now had his two paws into Spyro.

Cynder's eyes widened, as she immediately thought that he was going to crush Spyro to death. "No!" She cried out, "Let him go!"

However, she was ignored, and Malefor was still looking at Spyro, as if he was checking him up. He was looking at him and he was muttering something to himself which Cynder didn't heard.

Immediately, he turned to Cynder. "He needs help." Malefor said, and that startled Cynder up. Not only because he seemed to be worried about Spyro being well or not, but because of his voice.

It had changed.

Before it was much deeper, and it had that secondary tune that was able to send chills to her spine and make it seem like her bones were shivering from the cold of the pure fear. However, now it was different. That secondary tune was gone, and his voice wasn't as deep as it had once been. The voice sounded like the one of a normal dragon.

Actually, for the first time Cynder noticed that the Dark Master himself somehow looked different. His appearance had somehow changed, to start with the eyes, which were yellow with slit pupils, and now they had a different appearance, with purple color, just like Spyro's. There was also something about the semblance that seemed to be quite different, for it was not as aggressive or mean as it looked before.

And there was even more, for now Cynder could notice that his presence was different. During the fight, Cynder could feel very well the presence that he somehow emanated, and it was a presence that somehow made it perfectly clear that he was evil and cruel. It was like an aura of the purest malice all around him. However, now that she stopped and was able to actually focus in it, she realized that the aura was gone. It was like it had somehow been removed, and now, there was no trace of it.

"Cynder!" Malefor shouted, making the black dragoness jump and look at him, as he had the purest concern in his face. "Spyro used too much energy, he needs to recover it quick or his body won't handle it!"

Cynder was taken aback by the level of the worry that she could sense in the voice and face of the Dark Master, and the fact that all of that worry was directed to the dragon that had just fooled and destroyed all of his plans. Malefor should be happy for knowing that Spyro was not going to make it, and he should actually assure that this was going to happen, but instead, he seemed as if he was willing to prevent it from happening.

What was going on? Why the Dark Master, the enemy of the world, suddenly seemed that he had a change of heart?

"We need to take him somewhere safe." Malefor said, making Cynder look at him. "I think I saw a cave nearby when we were up. Let's go! We don't have time!"

He sadi that and he started to run, carrying Spyro in his paw, and Cynder had to take a moment in order to recover and immediately go after him.

The Dark Master ran with Spyro, seeming worried, and Cynder had to run a lot to keep pace with the big purple adult as he was running in earnest, as if the situation was truly dire.

The purple dragon barely looked to the sides or really paid Cynder any attention. He seemed to be overly worried with Spyro, and he seemed as if he truly wanted to make sure that the purple dragon was going to last for more than one day. Why? Cynder could barely even guess. It was really strange that the Dark Master suddenly seemed to be all worried with Spyro like that, especially considering that he and Cynder had just gave a hell of a beat up in them.

They took a while in mad running, but they eventually reached the said cave, which was in the base of a short mount, and it was well hidden by some rocks and also by vegetation. The only way of truly seeing it was really to see it from above, as Malefor claimed to have done. And the adult purple dragon wasted no time into going inside of it, and Cynder following soon after, to see the inside of the cave.

It was well illuminated by some holes in the ceiling, from which came light, and it also had some vegetation inside most of it weeds and vines, it even had a small lake that was probably from some underground water source. The place actually seemed to be a very cozy one to make a living for a while. However, Malefor seemed to be barely minding it. The adult was too busy in picking up weed and also some vines, and he made a makeshift bed in which he laid Spyro.

Cynder approached as the Dark Master was checking on Spyro, and he seemed deadly worried as he did so. Cynder also was getting worried as she was seeing the situation in which Spyro seemed to be.

He was still unconscious, but he also looked pale, and his breath was slow and it almost seemed labored. It seemed that the act of fixing the world up together had taken a deep toll into him, and now he was into a serious situation. It seemed that his body was starting to falter due to the lack of energy in his body. As soon as Cynder realized that, she started to get as worried as the Dark Master seemed to be about the younger purple dragon.

"What do we do?" Cynder asked, seeing the state in which Spyro was, seeming that she had just forgotten that she was talking to the one who was supposed to be their deadly enemy. She was too worried to think about that in the moment.

"He needs mana crystals." Malefor said, checking on him "And he needs them quick. Cynder, you need to go get them, now."

"I won't leave!" Cynder said. Despite having now more concern with Spyro's safety than with the fact that the Dark Master himself was on a isolated place with them and could do whatever he want without anyone coming to save them, Cynder was still not willing to trust Malefor enough to leave him alone with Spyro.

"He will not resist for long if he does not receive Mana crystals!" Malefor said, letting it clear that the time was not on their side.

"I'm not leaving you two alone!" Cynder shot back, "What if you do something to him while I'm out?"

"I could do something to both of you right now and no one could stop me!" Malefor said matter-of-factly, and he continued, "If I wanted you two dead I would have done it already!"

"Than why didn't you?"

"We are losing time!" Malefor said, almost crying out in frustration. "Spyro may not survive if we don't find some crystals now!"

"I'm not letting Spyro out of my sight!" Cynder said, and Malefor looked at her with a look that was one of almost anger. Cynder actually got ready to defend herself against an attack, when the purple dragon cried out in defeat. "Oh, Ancestors! Alright!"

He said, and he turned to the exit of the cave. "I will get the crystals! You stay here with him!" He said, and he started to walk out, and he turned to the young black dragoness one more time and he said, "And try to keep him warm and to make him drink some water." And with that, Malefor left the cave, leaving behind an unconscious Spyro and a slightly stunned Cynder.

The way he talked, it seemed like he truly cared about Spyro, and he truly wanted to help him now that he had a problem. Cynder could not help but wonder what was the reason for that change of heart, all of sudden. She didn't remembered ever hearing anything of the like happening with someone. Well, save form the time in which she was under his control and Spyro saved her by purifying…

Her mind suddenly came to a stop as she processed her own thoughts, and she started to make associations to what had happened to her, and to what had just happened with the Dark Master.

Could it be… Could it be possible that… Was that even possible?

But… that meant… and also meant that… and also…

Cynder was barely even able to follow her own trail of thoughts as she tried to make sense out of it. She was still having enough problems trying to convince herself that it was possible, even if it was totally fitting with all which was happening, from the change in the eyes and voice to the change of attitude towards them.

However, Cynder was able to snap out of it as she was able to make herself focus back into the purple dragon in there. The dragon who she loved and who she didn't wanted to see suffering or dying.

Cynder approached him, and she put a paw into him. He was very cold to the touch, and she noticed that his breath was still labored, as if the purple dragon was deeply tired. Cynder had already heard that sometimes, when a dragon used too much of his mana into a single elemental feat, he could end up sucking also his own life force, and that could lead to several problems, from fatigue and near death experiences to shortening of the dragon's lifespan.

Cynder never had the chance of seeing something like that in person, and she was not exactly liking the experience of seeing it happening with someone who she cared so much about. It was not exactly a good way of learning the risks of using too much elemental power all at once.

Cynder was lost for a few moments, but soon, she was forcing herself to do exactly the things that Malefor had suggested her to do. Funny thing, she had never imagined that she would, one day, from her own free will, follow the orders of that same purple dragon who turned her into the Terror of the Skies. However, the situation now was totally different, and Cynder soon was finding the idea of following these instructions quite appealing.

She gathered some leaves and weed from the walls and the ground, and she used them to cover Spyro, as a makeshift blanket, to keep him warmth. The next thing she did, was to go to the lake and to gather a little of the water into her paw and bring it to Spyro. She put her paw near his face, letting the few drops of water leak into his mouth. Even though the purple dragon was unconscious, he instinctively drank down the water, lapping gently into the paw of the black dragoness, who found herself blushing slightly at that kind of contact, even though the situation was not the kind of one which would allow her to waste time getting affected by these small things.

As soon as it was done, Cynder felt a little better, but still, she noticed that it seemed that Spyro was getting worse as he seemed to be turning more pale. Cynder was worried that he might not make it. Still, she took good care of him as she waited for the older purple dragon to return.

She waited.

And waited.

The time was passing. How long had it been now? It had been hours, and that Cynder was for sure. She was still looking at the entrance at every few minutes, and she was wondering now if the bigger purple dragon was actually going to return. She was starting to wonder if he had left and went to his own freedom while he left her taking care of Spyro, only to watch him die.

She felt a wave of anger at her for having been so foolish, that was when a noise scared her.

She looked over, and saw the familiar shape of the older purple dragon walking into the cave. He was carrying a few green crystals with him, and he had a few cuts over his arm and also on the side of his face. Cynder looked at him as he approached, and he piled up the crystals right by Spyro's side.

Right after, before Cynder could react, he used his paw to smash the crystals, making some noise, and almost completely pulverizing them. The small shards of the green crystals flew around and gathered around the purple dragon, vanishing as they touched his skin. Spyro shivered slightly, but soon after, the purple dragon let out a sigh as he relaxed, and his breathing was no longer troubled.

As soon as Spyro seemed to stabilize, Malefor himself let out a sigh as if he was relieved, and he was able to sit back and relax a little. Cynder looked at him, and the adult said, "Sorry for taking long. I had some problems."

Cynder continued to look at him, particularly at his wounds, which seemed all to be fresh.

"What…"

"Someone saw me." He said simply, before she could even finish. "I just wanted the crystals, I even tried to say, but they didn't seemed like they wanted to hear me." The purple dragon looked at the ceiling, and he said, "They will probably be looking for me if anyone believes them."

Cynder knew what that meant, and she also knew that if they saw him they were going to attack again. After all, they were talking about the dragon that came to be known as the Dark Master. The one who tried to destroy the world, and who created chaos and destruction. The one who caused death and suffering to several people all across the lands as he sent out his armies to kill as much people as he could, seemingly, only for the sake of destruction itself.

It was already expected the people would not jump of joy at the sight of him.

However, the big purple dragon didn't had any sighs that he had attacked or killed them, as Cynder would be to expect if she heard that someone had attacked him. He didn't had blood on his claws or mouth. The only blood which he had was his own, and it was leaking from the wounds which were still fresh on him. Also, Malefor said that the ones who attaclked him were going to tell that they had spotted him, what told him that the purple dragon had really not killed them. The sign that he had not fought back the ones who have attacked him and made wounds at him, somehow served to give more force to her own suspects.

She was looking at him, and he noticed that before Cynder would be able to hide the fact that she was looking at his wounds. He looked at her, and he said. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. They are all only fresh wounds." He looked at her as she looked back at him, and after a while, they both only looked away from each other, in direction to Spyro, who had now, actually recovered a little of his regular purple color, and was actually looking somewhat better than he had just been.

Malefor sighed in seemingly relief, and he looked at Cynder as he spoke. "Well it seems that he is out of danger now."

"But… he is still unconscious."

"He is just sleeping." Malefor assured her, "He went through a lot and he is tired, let him rest now."

Cynder never imagined that she would have a talk like that with the dragon known as the Dark Master. Still, it was happening. If anyone told her that she was going to pass by this she would never had believed. This was surely not how she expected things to develop and turn out when she went with Spyro to the last fight.

She looked at him, and suddenly, she felt her belly rumbling slightly. Cynder put a paw over her belly. When it was the last time that she ate again? Cynder couldn't even remember. She felt like she hadn't eaten in weeks, for all the effort that she had made. She was a little taken back when she heard Malefor's new voice saying.

"Hungry?"

She looked at him, and saw that he was looking at her as he spoke, and she blushed, ashamed that her belly had grumbled so loud that someone was actually able to hear it. Malefor simply sighed, and he said, "Stay here with him, I'll go get food" and he started to leave the cave once again, but Cynder stopped him.

"Wait!" Malefor stopped and looked at her, and she spoke, "You just got sighted, and you are hurt. What if someone else sees you and attacks you again?"

Malefor looked slightly surprised at her. Cynder herself seemed to be surprised as she seemed to be worried with his well being. However, Malefor didn't manifested his surprise in words, and instead, he only said, "I'll be fine." And he continued on his way out of the cave, leaving once more Cynder alone with Spyro.

She stood there with him, watching the purple dragon slowly and calmly breathed, as it seemed that more of his regular color was returning by the moment. Cynder put a paw on him once again, and he was feeling warmer than before, and that was just another reason why Cynder felt relieved.

It seemed that Malefor was right, and that he had really saved Spyro's life. That was really something that Cynder would never expect to happen into a situation like that, and it was more than enough to give even more fundament to her own idea: the idea that, somehow, Male fro had been purified, just like she was years ago.

Cynder knew what this meant, and she also knew that it brought forward many questions. Like, if Malefor was corrupted like Cynder was, then that meant that he was not truly evil? The meant that someone else had corrupted him? If yes, then who? Why? For how long?

That was the true reason of Malefor's turning to evil? That was the true reason of the war and everything else? Malefor was really not responsible for his actions? All the people who he killed and all the lives he destroyed were not for his own option? He could have been something different if it was not for being corrupted?

These questions all ran into Cynder's head, as well as the idea if this "purification" was real or not. She had not yet discharged the possibility that the Dark Master could only be pretending that he was purified as part of some elaborated plan to be able to win over his two enemies and be able to fulfill his objective of destroying the world.

Cynder was truly unsure of what to think at the moment, still, Malefor had done good to them until now, and so, she decided that it was maybe a good idea to trust him for now, but she was going to keep an eye open for him.

She waited again by Spyro's side, keeping by his side and making sure that the purple dragon was warm and that he was okay. It took around half an hour before Malefor finally came back. He was carrying three dead sheep with him and also a pile of wood which he most likely had picked up in the time he was away. He didn't had any new wounds, so Cynder assumed that he had no problems in his second excursion to the outside.

However, Cynder could not avoid the thought that, if these sheep belonged to someone, the purple dragon would have stolen them. But, as her belly grumbled again due to the hungry, Cynder was barely even minding.

Soon Malefor was putting himself into working into the sheep to get them ready. First of all, he started to remove their fur, until they were only skin, and the next thing he did, was removing this skin slowly. Cynder was forced to look back, for even with her being at the war, there was a limit to the things that she was able to stomach, and she wasn't the only one.

Malefor himself cringed slightly as he saw the blood. Hours ago, that wouldn't bother him at all. However, now it was different. Now he felt different, and that blood was making him slightly uncomfortable.

However, that part soon was done, and the purple dragon put the discharged remains aside, and he put the fire in a pile, and used his own fire breath to make it light up. Soon there was a fire in it, and Malefor put the lambs into some sticks of wood, and put them into the fire, to get them cooked. Also, the fire created a gentle flame which helped to keep the place they were in warmth.

Sure, Malefor could have just used his fire breath to cook the lambs; however, he had learned a long time ago that it was not a good idea to waste out mana with simple things when it could be needed to fight. Having mana or not could be the difference between living or dying.

The meat was left cooking for a while, and the smell soon was filling the cave in which they were in, and that smell was making Cynder's mouth water. The black dragoness waited as the meat soon was cooked enough to be eaten.

She barely even considered the possibility of Malefor having poisoned the food (which he didn't) and she simply dug in, and the meat was great, with no sign of having been poisoned. Also, Malefor himself was eating, so that threw the idea of the poisoning of the lamb out the window, since the purple dragon would not put that thing in his mouth if he knew that there was poison in it.

Cynder sighed as soon as she finished the food, she had almost forgot what felt like to have a full belly. The feeling was a very good one, and she now put herself to watch as Malefor ate his own food. The adult seemed to have a very serious expression in his face, as if he was thinking of something that was troubling him.

Cynder could only look at him, as she was now trying to figure him out as he ate very silently. The purple dragon really seemed to be troubled, and Cynder could notice that by his expression and by the way that he was looking, it seemed that he was thinking something that was making him feel bad. _Really_ bad.

This somehow only served to give more strength for her own theory of Malefor having been purified. She thought so because she had pretty much sure that she had a similar look on her face every time that she remembered the things that she had done to the world when she was still the Terror of the Skies. She had already saw in her own face, when she looked at her reflection, a face that was very much as haunted as the look that Malefor had in his own face.

That look which reflected grief and guilty, she knew very well that look. She knew the feeling of feeling responsible for the deaths of several when you were unable to even control your own actions. Cynder was having more and more reason by the second to believe that the theory that Malefor had somehow been purified were correct.

The time passed, and Malefor was almost finishing his meal, when he said, "I'm sorry."

This startled Cynder a little, and she looked at the big purple dragon, who continued to look at his almost done sheep, which were left now almost only the bones. It was like he had not the courage to look Cynder in the eyes, and he continued to say.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done." He looked down, "I'm sorry for putting you through all of this. For turning you into the Terror of the Skies. For taking you away from your family and for turning you into a tool of destruction. I'm sorry for having made you went through all of that."

He sounded really sincere as he said all of that, as if he had been planning to say that for a really long time. Also, as Cynder looked in his face, she could swear to the Ancestors that she could see tears traveling down the purple dragon's cheeks. That, for her, was a proof that the purple dragon who was previously known as the Dark Master was truly sorry for what he had done. Cynder just knew it. The emotion in his face, the pain, the sorrow, there was no way of faking that. She just knew that no one was that good of an actor.

She instantly knew that it was true, and she could finally feel a wave of compassion for the purple dragon. A feeling that she was completely sure that she would never feel for the dragon that came to be known by everyone as The Dark Master, and as the traitor of all dragon kind.

"It was not your fault." Cynder said, and she really meant it when she said it. Malefor said back:

"It was like a nightmare." He had a lost gaze, and he was not touching his food anymore. Instead, he was only looking into the ground as he spoke it, as if every word made him feel pain, as if he felt pain at each memory that he had. "Somehow I was awake. I knew what was happening, but I could not avoid it. It was like my body was not my own. I couldn't stop, and I wanted to stop."

Malefor was starting to quiver as he spoke that, and Cynder felt more and more in sympathy with him, for she remembered that he had a very similar feeling when she was the Terror of the Skies. The feeling of not being in control of her own actions and the feeling that she could not avoid causing the destruction, and that when she finally was free, it was ,like she had woke up from a terrible nightmare, a very vivid one.

Cynder knew that feeling, and she could only think of doing one thing: she placed her paw into Malefor's leg, and gently rubbed, as if to gently soothe him as she did so. The purple dragon let out a heavy sigh as he was consoled by one of the people that he had hurt. This was somehow a good thing, but still, it was not enough to make him redeem for all of his sins, and the former Dark Master knew that pretty well.

"I have to take you two back to your home." Malefor said, after a long silence. "And then, I'm going to turn myself in to accept any fate that the Guardians see fit."

This startled Cynder, as she looked up at him. She knew that the Guardians were going to decide for death as the punishment for all that the adult purple dragon had done. She knew that, even if the Guardians had not decided for executing him, it was very likely that many people would come out demanding him to be killed for all that he did, and for what he had tried to do.

Anyway, Cynder knew that, if the former Dark Master really turned himself in, his fate would most likely be death.

Malefor looked at her, and he saw her concerned expression at him. "Don't worry so much." He said to her, being actually able to force a smile. "After all, it is not like everyone is going to mourn for me. Actually, I'd be surprised if they didn't made a party and danced over my corpse."

Cynder was unable to share of this morbid humor that the purple dragon was showing. She actually felt even more worried, even if it seemed that the dragon talking to her was totally ready and willing to face his fate. This only served to show that he truly regretted what he had done, and that he actually didn't deserved to die.

"Maybe we could talk to them." Cynder offered, "Maybe we can make them understand…"

"Please, don't give me false hopes." Malefor said, looking at her, "I know full well that, after all I did, they will only be satisfied when they see my blood splattering the ground." He said with another smile, and he added, "I just hope I can take you two back home before they all start to come after me with whole armies. Once you two are safe I can accept my fate in peace."

The purple dragon continued to face the void, and Cynder could not avoid the feeling of sadness that she felt by seeing the purple dragon helpless about his own fate, such was the guilt he was feeling. She could remember on herself having feelings like that when she was recovered from being the Terror of the Skies. The feeling of guilt was too big to be handled, and many times it made her wonder if she really deserved to be redeemed. She understood that pain, and so, she could totally form a bound with the former Dark Master.

"Malefor…" She spoke, being careful to choose wisely her next words, totally conscientious of the pain that the adult was feeling. "You did these things, but they were not your fault. Maybe we can explain to them. We can tell them that you don't deserve it."

"I _do_ deserve." Malefor said, "For what I have done to everyone, to the world…" He looked in the void, and he continued, "For what I've done to you, Cynder." He said, and he stopped for a few moments, and he continued, "For what I've done to her… and to Spyro." He finished as he looked again at the void, and as he did, Cynder was sure that his expression had become even more sorrowful as he mentioned _her_ and Spyro.

However, Cynder could not avoid the question that popped in her mind about who exactly would be "her".

"I almost killed him." Malefor said, as if it was to himself. "I almost take away Spyro's life, and that is just something that don't deserve to be forgiven." He looked over his shoulder, and he said, "For what I've done to him. For what I have put him through, for more than anything else, I deserve to pay."

Cynder could agree with that, for she had deep feelings towards Spyro. However, she caught herself wondering just what the Dark Master… no, the _former_ Dark Master, meant by that. Sure, he had caused Spyro much suffering, however, there were many people out there who suffered as much as him, maybe even more. It was strange that the adult purple dragon was putting Spyro's suffering above everything else, as if Spyro was really someone very important not only to the world, but to Malefor himself.

That was one thing that made Cynder wonder:

"Why Spyro is so important to you?" She asked before realizing that it would be too invasive, and that it was the wrong thing that she should ask in a moment like that. She only realized it after the question had escaped her lips. She immediately regretted it, and she wanted to apologize for asking something like that. However, Malefor simply let out a very heavy sigh, and he looked back at her, before saying.

"Remember when I said that Spyro and I had much more in common than just our color?" He asked her, and Cynder looked up at him, and she nodded, remembering full well at that moment, in which Spyro was almost led to doubt about himself. Malefor let out another sigh, and he continued.

"I was saying the truth in that moment." Malefor looked at the ground as he continued, "Spyro made me remember so much of myself when I was his age. How I was before this whole madness began, before I started to lose track of myself and of the world around me. Before I started to become the Dark Master…" Malefor spoke that title as if it was some kind of poison that he wanted to immediately spit out of his mouth. "He made me remember of her…"

There comes "her" again, and Cynder was growing more and more curious by the second. And Malefor, simply continued to talk. "Even though he makes me remember of myself, he also makes me remember her. He is also gentle and compassionate like she was. He puts others above himself and he second-guesses himself, much like her did sometimes." Malefor was almost quivering now. "I miss her so much…"

However she was, it was clear that she must have been someone important to the purple dragon, for he seemed to become really affected by talking about her. Cynder was gaining more questions that she wanted to see answered. And her questions were being, as Malefor was continuing with is speech.

"When I first saw him, for the first time in ages, for the first time in my life, I wanted to hug him." He said, and that really caught Cynder's attention. "I wanted to tell him I was sorry, and that I wanted to make up for all the things I did, that I wanted to be there for him, like I should from the very beginning."

Okay, now Cynder was starting to get lost.

"Instead, I attacked him, I tried to hurt him. Her son…" Malefor said, "My own blood…"

"What?" Cynder said suddenly, unable to hide the surprise in her own face and voice as she was starting to form the picture in her mind of just what Malefor was talking about. He was really saying what she thought that he was saying?

A single tear ran down his face, and he sighed, as he said the words that confirmed what Cynder was thinking that he was saying.

"Spyro… is my son."


	2. Malefor's True Past

The words that Cynder heard were still ranging into her mind a thousand times before she could actually make sense of them.

This new information was so sudden and so new that her first reaction was not to believe them. They were just so sudden and they went so much against she knew that there was no way that she could accept them as truth.

Could it be all a fluke? Could it be that the Dark Master only wanted her to believe that to make her turn against Spyro? Or did he wanted her to pass this information to Spyro, and make the purple dragon confused and more inclined to be persuaded to pass to Malefor's side?

She didn't knew which one of these options scared her more, however, as she thought about it, all that had happened was making it be less believable that the words that she heard could actually be a deliberated lie. Still, it was too much of new information to her that Spyro, the hero of everyone, could actually be the SON of Malefor, the one knew into the whole world as the Dark Master.

Still, there were many things in this story that still didn't quite fit into it, like the fact that Malefor had been into the banishment for a _long_ time before Spyro's egg actually hatched, and also, the fact that no one ever knew this kind of relation that the prophesized hero shared with the one he was supposed to defeat. Of course that people would know about this kind of thing, wouldn't them? And of course that a dragoness who got pregnant of a child of the Dark Master would have her name known around the realms, right?

There were many things that were not matching into this story, and still, Cynder found little reason to believe that Malefor thought that what he was saying was a lie.

The purple dragon only looked at his own feet, at the food that he barely ate, as he let out a sigh, an expression of sadness and near misery at his face, as if he had completely lost all of the hope into the world. Cynder tried to remember herself that it could all be pretending in order to get her sympathy for his own plan, but the expression in his face didn't seemed to be the kind of thing that could be faked.

She could still not shake away the feeling that the things just didn't fit, even thought she had the feeling that this was truth, and she only looked at him, "How..?"

"Her name was Skier." Malefor said, and he had a very sad expression in his face as he said that, as if the memory was causing him physical pain. "She was a dragoness that I met when I was really young, before all of the madness began."

"Before you became the Dark Master?" Cynder asked, and immediately after that, the big purple dragon shivered and frowned, as if it was a really bad memory that he'd rather forget. However, he simply nodded, as he continued:

"She was a dragoness who I met into the temple, she was the daughter of one of the Guardians." He continued, and for a moment, it was like his pain was alleviated as he talked about it, as if her memory brought him peace. "She was the gentlest dragoness who I ever met. And she was really beautiful. She was like a summer breeze in the middle of the summer, and like a refreshing wind in the middle of a spring afternoon, bringing forth all the sweet smell of the blossoms with her."

He said that almost dreamingly, and Cynder could do nothing more than stare at him as if he had just grew five tails. If someone told her that the Dark Master himself, could be quite a loving poet, she would ask what kind of herbs this person had been eating to say something like that, for it had been too absurd. And now, Cynder thought that she could herself having been drugged by something into that sheep, and now she was either hallucinating or having a very strange dream.

Still, she only looked at him as he continued, "She was the first friend I ever had in my life. Most of the other young dragons thought I was weird because of my scales, and they avoided me, but she never minded that. She seemed like all she wanted was to be around me and play with me while the others thought I was some kind of freak. She was always by my side, and she was always making me smile and laugh about the silliest things, and making me look up and smile at a cloud or a thing like that… She… was wonderful."

He had a weak smile in his face as he remembered that, and it was not like the wicked smiles that he showed when he was with Cynder and Spyro. No. This smile was a happy one, even thought his expression and his eyes denoted sadness, that smile was a regular one, it was a true smile. Actually, Cynder found herself quite pleased by that smile in his face.

Malefor sighed, and he seemed as if he was relieving something that he had forgotten long ago, and he seemed to be happy for that.

"I… I always heard that you were popular in your time." Cynder said, remembering all the stories about how Malefor was appraised by his amazing abilities and his powers. The adult purple dragon, however, scoffed a little at this.

"Yeah, if the Guardians like him, he surely has to be popular, right?" Malefor said, with a hint of humor that Cynder found no reason to laugh about. He only continued, "After my elemental powers showed, of course that the Guardians all became exited about my power, and they wanted me to train and to become the most powerful dragon who ever lived, and they could all say that they contributed to my formation." He looked at the ceiling of the cave as he spoke, as if he was somewhere far away. "But the truth was that not everybody shared their happiness."

"Before my element showed up I was just a strange purple dragon, whose people avoided, but after I showed all my elements, things got more difficult. People started to avoid me even more, and they all seemed to almost be angry at me. I took a while to realize that the other dragons of my own age were all envious of my powers or scared of me."

Yeah, that surely was something that Cynder had not heard about. But she could very well imagine that people in that age could be jerks. It was actually not very hard to picture people being envious of someone who had more affinities to elements than them, or who was special while they were not, or even to be scared of someone who looked different and who could do things that normal dragons should not be able to, like having several different elements at the same time. She could only imagine what it was like for him to go through that.

"So, everybody did that to you?" She asked, and the purp0le dragon looked at her, and he saw in her face that she was really interested into his story, and he was actually able to smile at her, as he said, "Well, not everybody."

Cynder immediately knew what he meant by that. "Skyer." She spoke, and Malefor nodded, and he looked away again, as he continued to explain:

"Even though everybody else called me a freak, and wanted to stay away from me, she stayed by my side." He spoke, "She was barely minding all the things I could do. I even asked her why she was not envious or scared of me like everyone else. You know what she told me?"

"She said that she was a little envious, but that this was not going to make her learn any new element besides her wind element, and so, there was no use being mad at me for being better at something than her, even because that would be petty. Also, she said to me that I was her best friends, and that I had been for years, and that I never gave her any reason to be scared at me before, and that didn't changed only because I had more elements. I was still the same Mali that she always knew, and who was her best friend in the whole world."

He had a smile in his face as he spoke about her, the memory being a very found one, and it seemed that it was rather rare to him to have such happy memories like that lately, for what Cynder could imagine from her own experience form right after she was freed from the grip of darkness.

"She seemed to be amazing." She said as she looked up at Malefor, and the purple dragon nodded as he said, "She was… There was never a dragoness like her before, and I'm not sure if someday there will be again." He actually seemed sad when he said that, as if he was just remembering that she was not around anymore, and that they couldn't meet again.

Cynder decided to remain at a respectful silence, and the purple dragon soon was continuing. "It all changed when I was around Spyro's age." Malefor said that in a very dark mood, as if he was speaking of a tragedy, and indeed, he was. "It started off as nightmares. I used to have them lately at night, and I usually woke up sweaty and breathing hard, as if I had flew for several hours in a row, without rest, and after that, I couldn't sleep well."

Cynder looked up at him as he explained that, and next, she could not contain her curiosity as she asked. "These nightmares… what they were about?"

Malefor sighed, and he continued, "In the first weeks, I couldn't quite remember them, actually, I didn't even knew they were nightmares as I woke up. However, as weeks turned to months, they became more frequent and more intense, and I started remembering more of them, even if they were just pieces." He made a pause, seemingly to breathe and recover his strength, as he started to talk again. "They were always about somewhere far and dark. There was nothing alive around me, and I was alone. I remember that many times I was running, and I was trying to escape from something that was coming after me. I didn't knew what it was, but it was something terrible, and I knew that if it got me it would be horrible. I remembered the voice, it was evil, and it told me that I could not escape forever. The nightmares were getting worse, and overtime, I caught glimpses of what was coming after me. It was something big, deformed, horrid. It had claws, and these eyes…" Malefor shuttered at his memories, as if they were as vivid to him as they had been in the very same day that he woke up from them screaming. "It was becoming harder and harder to sleep, and as the nightmares got worse, I was often waking up screaming or something of the like. I remember many times the people waking me up in the middle of the night, telling that my screams were waking up half of the temple."

Cynder looked at him, as she imagined that these nightmares should really be something horrible, and she could only imagine what the purple dragon must have passed at this age for these things to happen to him. Soon, the purple dragon was continuing, as he said, "As the nightmares didn't let me sleep, I was getting more aggressive, I was getting into more fights, and I was more and more disrespectful with the Guardians."

Cynder looked at him. Of course that he was not going to say that he only became the Dark Master because he was having problems to sleep, right?

"But… it was more than that." Malefor said, as he continued to explain to her, "Over the time, I realize that it was more than just the lack of sleep. I was having all these strange emotions along with the nightmares, and they continued when I was awake, and they also got worse as the nightmares continued."

Malefor stared at the void, as if he was suddenly lost, and Cynder looked up at him, as he continued with his story, "I felt fear… I felt sadness. I felt despair, anger, resentment, hate… These emotions came in the strangest times, and many times I didn't even knew why I was angry, or sad, or scared." Malefor continued to look at the void, as if to something that only he could see, and Cynder now could barely even identify the emotion in his face as he looked.

"I started becoming paranoid, as if everyone around me wanted to hurt me. As if there was something lurking after me at all the times, waiting for me to drop me guard. Sometimes I was sure that I had caught something in the corner of my eye that looked like the creature from my nightmares."

Cynder continued to hear his explanations, as she could realize that, as he explained, he seemed more and more troubled, as if he was reliving all the fear and frustration of these years so long ago. The purple dragon continued, "Sometimes I had hallucinations, I saw things that were really in there. I heard the voices of people around me, saying that they wanted to hurt me, that I was not fit for being a dragon, that I didn't belonged among dragons."

Malefor was shaking slightly stronger at each sentence, as if he was suddenly have a several chill, and Cynder could notice that he seemed about to have a break down. She immediately, without even thinking about it, or if it was safe or not, put a paw on his', and she said. "Calm down."

Malefor's quivering lessened a little, and he looked at her, who looked at him, and she said in the best way she could, "It is okay."

Malefor looked at her for a while, as if he had just realized something about her that he never realized before. He looked at her for a few moments, before he said, "You made me remember of her now."

Cynder looked up at him, as he continued, "Skyer was always on my side, no matter what happened." He said, as he looked down at Cynder, and she could notice that the look in his eyes was almost tender as he said these words, "When I started to have the moods and the nightmares, she was always by my side. If I was sad, she did her best to cheer me up, if I was scared, she did all she could to clam me down and to tell me that everything was going to be fine. Even when I was angry, and yelling at everyone, and even threatening to attack who came near me, she would come to me, and would tell me that it was okay, and she would do all she could to get me to calm down and to help me smile and be the Mali she knew and who she liked."

He was able to smile at this new memory, as he continued to explain, "She didn't succeeded very often at those times, but she did a time or another, and she never just walked away until she had the feeling I was feeling better. Back then, I thought it was annoying, but all she wanted was to see me feeling better. Now, I'm glad to her for not going away when I told her to. For staying with me and not simply letting me to my own anger and misery, and for always caring for me and trying to make me happy. I'm glad that she was one of the few people who really cared so much for me."

He had a very conflicting expression. By one side, he was smiling softly, as if he was really happy with some childhood memory that he found to be very found and dear to him. However, at the same time, the expression that he had, and the look that he had in his eyes, Cynder could notice that he seemed as if he was facing some profound anguish, as if he was suffering very much form having a memory that caused him much and deep pain. Cynder was finding it very strange and also very unsettling that a dragon could feel these two emotions so conflicting at the same time. However, it made sense, since they were talking about someone who really cared about him and who was no longer there. Maybe this kind of expression, a sad happiness, was common among people who had suffered the loss of someone who was so dear to them.

Malefor sighed, and he continued, "But, things started to get worse." Malefor seemed to feel even worse as he said that, the hint of happiness finally leaving him, as he continued to talk about the pain and the misery that lead him to become the Dark Master. "My paranoia and my anger became worse, and I started to hear these voices telling me that, if the world was against me, than I should be against the world. That everyone was my enemy, and that the world was ugly and corrupted, and so, the only way of cleansing it was to destroy it and start it all again."

"I didn't believed in it at first, but as time went by, I started to hear it more and more insistently in my head, and so, with my feelings of anger and resentment, at some point I started to listen more and more into this voice, and I started to accept into what the voice was saying to me."

Cynder looked at him, as she was starting to sympathize more and more with him, as he was telling her something that, if someone else said, Cynder would think that the person had gone insane. Indeed, what Malefor was describing had all the looks as with the person who was saying was describing how had fallen to madness, for that was what it looked. However, Cynder had the feeling that it was much more than just that, and she could feel in her bones and in the way that Malefor acted now, that he seemingly had his sanity back to him, that this was much more than mere insanity.

"Over the years, I grew more and more distant from people, as I heard what that voice was saying. It told me secrets, told me thing that I shouldn't listen. That _no one_ should ever listen. And I wanted to listen. It seemed like the voice knew what to say to make me hear and to make me pay attention. I listened to what it had to tell me, and learned from the evil secrets that it whispered to me, as it told me more and more as they were turning me into something different from what I was, and it was more and more turning me against the rest of the world, and telling me to destroy it, so I could cleanse the world and start anew, to create a whole new world from the ashes of the previous."

Cynder listened very carefully to him, as he seemed to be very sad as he spoke that, as if he was truly ashamed for all that he had done. It almost looked as if he was asking himself how could he had ever believed in all of these lies which were told to him. As if he was asking himself how he could allow that his emotions had controlled him to a point that he really considered doing these horrible things with the world that he was supposed to love and protect. At least, that was the impression that Cynder had, form the expression that the adult purple dragon had in his face.

She was feeling more and more sorry at him by the minute, as it seemed as if he was suffering a lot and that he was into a very delicate position, very vulnerable, what would be very unlike of a dragon as old and powerful as the purple dragon had.

Cynder looked at him, as he said, "The rest… well, I guess you already heard enough of the stories to know what happened." He said somewhat miserably. Cynder looked up at him, and she looked at him as she could reflect about what had been said to her. Still, there were things that were making her think about it, and so, she could not avoid but make the question.

"What about Skyer?" She asked to the purple dragon, "She was Spyro's mother, right?"

She immediately regretted asking it, for in that moment, she could see a spark of the purest and deepest sorrow that she had ever imagine that it would be possible to see, passing into the eyes of the older purple dragon. She was about to apologize for saying that, but soon, Malefor let out a heavy sigh, and he said, "She went after me when I left the temple and started to plot against the world."

She looked at him, as he looked at the ground as he said all of these things. "She found me, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't looked even slightly close to that little and innocent young dragon that she knew long ago." He3 seemed very sad as he said that, and he continued, "I tried to scare her off, to make her leave, just like I had already done many times, and I was sure that she was going to do it this time. After all, I had became a dangerous dragon, whose presence inspired fear in people, who dealt with heavy black magic, who had already murdered people, who was planning to destroy the whole world. Of course that I thought that she was going to run away from me, and to forget me completely."

He sighed, and he said, "But once more, she surprised me. Instead of running form me, she stayed by my side. She didn't agreed with what I was doing, of course, but she still refused to abandon me. She said that she never gave up on me on the past, and so, there was no reason why she would do it now."

"She stayed, and she kept all that time trying to make me give up on my ambitions and on my dark goals, and for a while, she was even able to do so." He spoke that, and his look now was almost dreamy as he continued to explain, his own voice almost seeming to be disembodied to him as he spoke.

"As she was near me, she made me rethink all of the things that the voice had told me, and to consider giving up all the things that I had planned to do with the world and all the ones who inhabited it." Malefor continued to explain, "She was so sweet and so gentle, and she showed to me some kindness that made me think again and to reconsider the decisions I had made. She was gentle and so caring for me, and she loved me…" He trailed a little as he said that, and it looked like he was about to add something else, but he didn't, and Cynder looked at him as he smiled, and he continued.

"She had loved me for a long time, and I only realized that when I realized that I was just as in love with her as she was with me."

Cynder looked at him, and soon he continued. "However, the voices noticed it too, and they didn't liked it one bit."

Malefor had a very grim mood as he said that, as he looked into the distance. "The voice soon started to see that she was a threat to what they were trying to make me do, to what they were trying to turn me into. They could not accept that. For them, she was a stone in the way, that needed to be removed in order to don't interfere into the main plan, and into what was my "destiny" as they had told me."

Malefor had an expression of pure pain and anguish as he said the next words, his voice starting to sound shaken. "They ordered me to get rid of her… They… they ordered me to… to…" He was unable to complete the phrase, however, Cynder already had a very good idea of what it was, and she felt a sense of dread coming to her as she was spoken about that.

After a while, Malefor lowered his head, taking a few gasping breaths, as if to hold back tears. "I fought it while I could. I could not bring myself to harm her. I loved her too much. But… the voices continued to talk in my head." Malefor's voice was becoming more and more shaken as he spoke. "They continued to talk to me day and night that, if she continued to live, she would be a threat to all that I was trying to do. They continued to insist and insist. I was becoming tired, my will was faltering more and more… until I… until I finally…"

There was when the purple dragon reached his breaking point. Immediately, he lowered his head, and his body started to shake with his sobs. Tears were leaking from his eyes and falling down to the ground.

Cynder could only look at the dragon who had came to be the horror of the world, and he was now different from what everyone described. He looked so vulnerable, so fragile. Now Cynder could simply not avoid feeling truly sorry for him, despite all that he might have done, the pain that he was feeling, Cynder knew in her heart that it was the kind of pain that no one should be forced to face, no matter what were their crimes or what was the situation.

She reached out, and she put a paw over his own, as he continued to sob and to cry, his tears falling down as he was letting all the pain that he cumulated into years, centuries of his imprisonment, finally be let out for the world to see.

"Malefor…" Cynder said, and she was totally honest as she said the next words. "I'm sorry for you…"

"I loved her so much." Malefor said between sobs, and he continued to cry, "When I finally succumbed and I attacked her, she was scared, but then, when she was in the ground, she said…" He trailed, and he took more gasping breaths, as if to recompose himself again, and he continued, "She said that she understood that it was not my fault… She… she said that… she forgave me…"

It seemed that these words almost caused him physical pain, the purple dragon was shaking from head to tail and he was a sobbing mess. He looked very different form the idea that most people had about the Dark Master and about the kind of dragon who he was known as across the whole world.

Cynder stood there, comforting him silently as he continued to cry, and they lasted like that for a while. "I killed the only people who truly loved me in my life. I could never get over it, even when I was corrupted, even when I was the Dark Master, I could not shake away the feeling of guilty that came every time that I thought about her." He was shaken about this, and it was clear that, even now, so many centuries after what happened, it was still affecting him deeply.

"It was it… I thought that she was gone, and that all that she had ever been was gone forever, but, only later on, I discovered that she had laid an egg." Malefor continued, and Cynder looked up to him as he raised his head, and he continued. "It was a purple egg. It was her son… OUR son…"

Cynder looked up at him, and he continued, "That was soon before I was finally banished, and locked away into the Convexity. Only later on I heard about the prophecy that spoke of the new purple dragon, and I didn't needed to think too much to know which would be the egg from which said dragon was going to hatch…"

Cynder looked up at him, and she could not help but feel amazed by such a story. It was the kind of thing that no one would be ever able to imagine, and it was indeed, rather fantastic. She knew that she would not be able to believe if anyone else had told this to her, in any other situation of the like. But now, after all that had happened, after all the situations that she had been through and all that she had saw happening and the way that the big purple dragon had been acting ever since., she felt very inclined to believe it, even if the story was utterly fantastic.

However, as she thought about it, there was still something that, for her, was not exactly fitting into the story…

"Hmmm, mister Malefor?" She asked, and the big purple dragon, surprised by this sudden politeness as she talked to him, looked at her as she tried to find the next words to say. "This is a great story, but… I don't understand one thing."

Malefor looked down at her as she continued, "You were locked out centuries ago. But… Spyro's egg only hatched around the same time as mine, and it was fifteen years ago…"

Malefor looked at her with smart eyes, as he was getting to where she wanted to go with this, and he could quite understand her doubt. "The time doesn't match, does it?" he asked, and she simply looked back at him, her eyes as smart as they were inquisitive. That dragoness was surely a good one, and Malefor could not help but admire her for several different reasons.

"The chronology don't fit, right?" Malefor asked her, and Cynder only looked back at him in silence, and the purple dragon sighed, and he said. "Cynder what do you know about dragon eggs?"

The black dragoness only looked back at him, unsure if she was supposed to answer or not. All that she knew about eggs was the basic, and it was more than she was supposed to know at the age she was now. Malefor seemingly didn't really expected an answer, for he continued anyways.

"Here is a very curious facts about dragon eggs: unlike most other eggs, that hatch in a time of weeks, the eggs of dragons may take _centuries_ to hatch."

Cynder looked up at him, as he continued to explain. "It don't happens all the time, but sometimes, after being laid, the egg of a dragon could remain into hibernation, waiting for the right moment to hatch, when the destiny seems to be the most favorable for the dragon to be born."

Malefor looked at the ceiling as he continued, "We don't know exactly why does that happens, but it does happens sometimes, and the egg can remain dormant for decades, centuries, sometimes it can even remain in dormancy for even longer than that. I heard about cases in which both of the parents of the egg had already died when it finally was ready to be hatched. Dragon eggs are a true mystery."

Cynder looked up at him, and after a moment, he looked down at her, his eyes full of sadness, and he continued. "When the purple egg was laid, it was not time for it to hatch yet, so the egg went into dormancy, and then, it waited as time moved. It only awakened and was getting ready to hatch when it was the right time. When it was the time for the prophecy to finally be fulfilled, and for the dragon who was going to be the prophesized hero as finally needed and in time to be born.

Malefor looked away, and he continued, with a much sadder tune. "Of course, I realized this at the time too, and I took my own measures." He seemed deeply and absurdly guilty, or at least that was the impression that Cynder had, when he said these words.

"I knew about the prophecy, and in the state I was, I could only take it as a threat to me and to my plans, even if it was my own son…" He stopped, and took a few gasping breaths. "I had followers back in this world, and even if I was stuck away, I knew that I could escape, and that I could not allow another purple dragon to get in my way."

He seemed sadder and sadder as he spoke, and then, Cynder saw a lot of hesitation, as if he did not dared to say the next words aloud. It lasted for a while, but the purple dragon finally found himself able to form the words and say them aloud.

"I… I ordered them to destroy the egg." He said, as fit h words themselves made him feel physical pain, and he continued, "I ordered them to make sure that the egg s not going to be a threat to me or my plans." He had his head down, and he said, "And when I heard that they had failed, I felt glad. I felt angry at them and outraged for knowing that a threat to my plans was still out there, but deep down inside, I felt relieved that my child was still out there, and alive."

Cynder looked up at him, as the former Dark Master continued, "Overtime, I heard about the feats that my son had accomplished, and while I felt proud of him, I also felt angered that he was defying me like that. The voices kept telling me that I should not accept it, and that I should get rid of him as soon as I had the chance." He sighed, and he said, "I tried to resist, at first, I even wondered if I could bring the young purple dragon to come to my side. So, if I was going to fulfill the plan of the destruction of this world, at least I could do this with my son by my side."

There was a deep silence, and the adult purple dragon continued, saying, "But, when Spyro refused, and I saw that I could do nothing more to bring me to my side, I finally decided that it was time to end his life… along with the world in which he lived and that he loved so much…"

Malefor stared at the void as he spoke that, "I killed my own mate." He said, not even looking at Cynder as he said these words, as if he was almost lost as he spoke that. "And I tried to kill our son… Even if I was forgiven for all of the other crimes I did against the world and the ones who live in it. I cannot ever forgive myself for what I did and tried to do with them."

Malefor let out a very heavy sigh, as Cynder looked up at him, and she felt like she was seeing him under a complete new light, that she never imagined that she would before. "I deserve to die for that. If the Guardians don't kill me, then I'm going to end my own life, and then I'll finally be attuned for all of my sins."

She looked up at him, and she didn't knew what to say about all of that. She understood the pain that he was feeling, and the reason why he felt so bad. She sympathized with him more than ever, and she could not find the right words to express it, and so, she chose to only remain silence, afraid that anything that she could say would only make the purple dragon feel worse.

"Cynder." Malefor spoke, after a brief silence, making the black dragoness look at him. "Please, don't say a word of what I told you to Spyro." She looked confused at him, "Spyro deserves to have a happy life, and I don't think that he would able to if he knew of our bond. I rather die with him hating me and live the rest of his life happy, than letting him know that I'm his father and living ashamed of me."

There was nothing more said after that, and Cynder only looked up at Malefor, who looked at the entrance of the cave, and he saw that it seemed that the night had already fallen, and he sighed, as he spoke. "I'll get to watch during the night." He got up and walked in direction to eh entrance, "You got to sleep. It was a long day."

He didn't even looked at Cynder as he said that, he only walked in direction to the entrance, and he stopped near it, before sitting again and looked at the entrance, now putting his guard into it as a gargoyle looking at the place that it was supposed to guard, and Cynder could only stare at him as he did so.

Indeed, the last day had been very long and very difficult, for one reason or for the other. All that she had just went through, all that she heard and saw in the past hours, had been, in a certain way, much more tiring and even more amazing than the other adventures that she had alongside Spyro. All that she just learned was something that she never truly imagined. All these years under the control of the Dark Master, and hearing of all the horrible things that he had done after his release, and it never truly occurred that maybe Malefor was passing by exactly the very same thing that she had went through. That maybe he was not in control of himself and was not responsible for his actions. That was really something that Cynder would never had been able to imagine on her own.

She looked at him, who was sadly keeping his watch over the entrance of the cave, making sure that they would be safe during the night, and seeming not like the cruel dragon who tried to destroy the world, but like a very, very miserable soul. Cynder felt very sorry for him. She truly did.

She looked over at Spyro, who was now laying on his side, his face away from her, and she sighed. She knew that it was late and that Spyro needed to sleep, and so, she shouldn't wake him up to share this information with him. Besides, she didn't knew how he would take them, and also, she felt that she should respect the wish of Malefor, who now she knew not as the Dark Master, but as another poor suffering soul. She barely even minded of how sudden and strange it all could seem. All she knew was that she should not share this information with Spyro. Not now, at least.

So, she approached him, making sure that he was okay, and she laid by his side. She now didn't felt as scared of the purple dragon in the entrance of the cave, and so, she didn't minded in sleeping as he was guarding them. She didn't felt as scared as she was supposed to, anymore, even though all that she heard could be nothing but a lie, she felt in her heart that at least part of what Malefor told her was true, enough so she could trust that he would not try to kill them in their sleep.

She laid down and soon she was feeling all the tiredness grow into her as she was slowly drifted to sleep, with Spyro right by her side. She would fall asleep without even noticing that Spyro was not sleeping.

Spyro was fully awake, more than he felt at any time that he could actually remember beign awake.

Spyro had woke up as he had started to recover his strength, and right in time to hear that voice, that he now knew to be the one of Malefor, saying that he was his father. Hearing that threw Spyro into the biggest loop of his life, as he wondered if he was dreaming. After all, it could only be a dream.

However, soon he started to realize that what he heard was no dream, and that was for real, or at least, it was what the new and purified Malefor as saying.

Soon Spyro was fully awake, and he could see the purple dragon from his back, and he already noticed the absence of that evil aura that he had. Also, he could her every single word that was spoken between him and Cynder, and at each word that he heard, the foundations of his world were shaken more and more.

The more he heard that sporty, the more he found himself believing that it was truth, and that caused much more chaos and confusion in Spyro's mind.

If it was truth, them why no one ever told him that?

Spyro felt shaken and almost broken as he heard these words, and he found himself turning his body away from them at some point, screwing his eyes shut and wanting to block all contact with the world. However, the words of that another purple dragon were still coming to him, and they seemed to be truer and truer at each second that Spyro heard them.

At many moments, he wanted to raise his voice, to confront the Dark Master directly and ask if it was really truth or if it was another of his cruel schemes to get the upper hand over the young dragons by shedding doubt over their minds and attacking once they were weakened and vulnerable. However, something made him remain silent and hear every single word of what was being said by the purple dragon, including the last ones, in which he asked Cynder to hide this information of Spyro.

If he wanted to shake Spyro with this information, then why would he ask Cynder to keep it secret? This inconsistency only gave Spyro more reason to believe that Malefor at least believed that what he was saying was truth, and that made every word that he had spoke to Cynder, without knowing that Spyro was awake to hear all of them, seem even truer.

However, none of that brought peace to Spyro's mind. Actually, it only filled him with o0re deep thoughts and more doubts. All of them plaguing his being and making him have several questions popping in his mind all at the same time, and making him question himself and half of the things that he had grew to believe in his life.

For all of his young life, Spyro had saw the male dragonfly who raised him as his father, and he never questioned this thought. However, as soon as he started his adventure, he found out another figure of father, which was the fire Guardian Ignitus. Spyro had these two figures that had cared for him, taught him and protected him, and both of them would be amazing fathers to have.

Now, however, Spyro was faced by the idea that his father, his true father, who shared the same blood as him, was the person who tried to kill him and almost destroyed all that he loved in that world. That was not something to take in lightly, as anyone who was in Spyro's position would surely agree. Still, there was also the issue of Malefor not being himself, which only raised more questions in Spyro's mind.

Spyro didn't knew what to think. His mind was so fuzzy with all of it that Spyro actually was barely even able to form coherent thoughts at could only curl a little more over himself as he tried to be warmer with the blanket of leaves that had been improvised over his form. Spyro was still feeling very tired, and having these questions in his mind only contributed to leave him even more tired, to the point that he was pretty sure that he was not going to be able to think this whole thing straight before he had slept for at least two days.

So, as he could do nothing more about that, Spyro simply closed his eyes as he tried to go into the realm of dreams, where he could, at least, try to make a sense out of all that had happened. Still, he was finding himself with severe difficulties to actually get to sleep. All the words of the story that Spyro had heard Malefor telling still rang around his mind, forming images in it as the purple dragon found himself imagining what could have been the story of the dragon who until a while ago was his enemy,. And who now claimed to be his father.

Spyro was moving as he tried to curl. Over himself a little more, until he could become only a little purple ball of scales, but he was finding himself unable to relax enough to sleep, even if, at the same time, he was feeling deeply and completely exhausted, physically as much as mentally, with all that had happened and that his mind was still having trouble to process.

Spyro was about to give up, when he suddenly felt a feeling in the back of his mind, as if it was a very soothing song that was being played at the distance. Of course, Spyro was not hearing any actual music, but the feeling was still in there, and it was somehow making his mind feel lighter as if his brain was turning into a balloon.

Spyro didn't knew where that feeling was coming from, but he knew that it was a good feeling, and that it was finally making his confused and conflicting mind relax. Enough for him to finally start to feel really sleepy.

Spyro was barely even minding the suddenness and the strangeness of that feeling, and he didn't even realized that it seemed rather familiar. Spyro simply embraced it, as it carried him like a gentle stream from a river in direction to a very calmer place where his troubles would not matter.

And was carried by that curious stream, that Spyro finally relaxed his whole body and mind as he was finally carried away into the realm of the deepest and sweetest of dreams.

Little did the young dragon knew that a very familiar face was waiting for him in there…

* * *

 _Spyro felt a little confused, but he blinked his eyes as he seemed to recover his consciousness. Spyro moved, and he discovered that the blanket of leaves that was covering him once was no longer there. Spyro got up, and he looked around, only to see himself in a place that was not the place where he slept into last time, but still, was a very familiar place._

 _There were several books in the place, both in the several shelves and into the air, floating around as if they were birds. Spyro was now on the side of a circular pool, which looked very much like the Pool of Visions from the dragon temple. Spyro only took a moment to realize where he was._

 _It was the Library. The same place he had been into the White Isles, and the home of the Chronicler. Spyro recalled very well that place, and he remembered of the talks that he had with the Chronicler in there, before he went in his adventure to save Cynder, and they both got stuck into the crystal for nearly three years._

 _Spyro looked around, wondering how he had got in there, and why he was in there. For Spyro was pretty sure that he had been into another place, a cave, with Cynder and Malefor. Also, unless he had really slept for two whole days, he was pretty sure that even the dragon who came to be known as "The Dar Master" would be unable to carry Spyro from the place they were to the White Isles so quick._

 _Spyro looked around. If that was the Chronicler's house, then it would make sense that he was near, right?_

 _"Hello?" Spyro called, and he looked around, trying to sight a glimpse of the big, ancient and very wise dragon that he came to know into that very same place three years ago._

 _There were a few moments of silence, and Spyro looked around, but could get no glimpse of the big dragon. He was about to call out again, when he caught something moving into the corner of his eye. Spyro looked at it, and he saw the silhouette of a big dragon moving in his direction, as he seemed to be almost directing the books to go back to their respective places into the shelves all around them._

 _Spyro looked at him as he approached, however, as he was coming closer Spyro noticed that there was something different about him. The young purple dragon could not pinpoint exactly what was dirfferent, for it was hard to see into the dim light of the room, but he knew that there was something very different about him._

 _It was almost as if… he was not the same dragon who talked to him long ago. Still, Spyro had a strange feeling of familiarity as the dragon came closer._

 _Suddenly, the dragon talked to him. "Hello, Spyro."_

 _The purple dragon's eyes widened as he heard that voice. It was not the voice of the Chronicler that he had knew, but at the same time, that voice was amazingly familiar and he knew exactly who it belonged to. And that was enough to send all kinds of feelings in Spyro's mind and body, all at the same time._

 _The bulky dragon approached him, and Spyro could finally see him better, especially as the great dragon lowered his head to Spyro, and he was now in eye-level with him._

 _"It is good to see you again, young dragon." The big dragon said, and Spyro could only stare at him._

 _He was different now. The previous color of red and orange from his body had changed to a bluish tune, and now he was wearing very much the same vestments that the Chronicler had when he first talked to Spyro. Still, there was no way of mistaking the identity of that dragon. Spyro could not confuse nor mistake the identity of the very first dragon besides himself that he knew in his life. The dragon that guided him and taught him what he needed, and who was there for him and who was like a father to him all this time._

 _"Ignitus?" Spyro said, staring at the dragon in front of him, and the bigger dragon nodded at him, and he said, "Yes, Spyro."_

 _There were a few moments of silence, before Spyro immediately lunged forward. Ignitus barely had time to reach as Spyro was now leaning over his nose, and he was hugging the bigger dragon. A few tears were leaking from Spyro's eyes as he was hugging the former Fire Guardian._

 _Ignitus was action less for a few moments, due to the surprise. However, he soon recovered and let the purple dragon hug him. Ignitus was well aware of Spyro's feelings, and he was not bothered in the slightest with the purple dragon showing him affection like that._

 _For a while, they just stood there, into close contact, when Spyro finally was able to talk again._

 _"Ignitus…" Spyro said, a few tears still flowing from his eyes as he looked at the bigger dragon. "The fire… I thought you died…"_

 _Ignitus looked down at the young dragon, and he felt deeply guilty for having to give this news to the young dragon. "I did, Spyro." He spoke, and Spyro could only look up at him. "No dragon would survive these flames for more than a few seconds, not even a fire dragon like me. I didn't made it."_

 _Spyro looked up at him, feeling his heart aching once again. After a few moments, Spyro was finally able to talk, "So… if you're here… it means that I..?"_

 _"You are sleeping." Ignitus said to him. "I just called you here because you and I needed to talk."_

 _Spyro looked up at him. "Called me here?" He asked, and he took a very good look at the dragon who was like a father to him. "Ignitus…"_

 _The dragon raised his head, and he looked down in the eyes of the younger dragon. "Spyro, the Chronicler is a title, just like the title of the Guardians." He explained to him. "During an age, there is a dragon, chosen upon the moment of his death, to watch over the White Isle and over this library, to keep the record of the story of the world. At the end of an age, and at the start of a new one, the previous Chronicler is dismissed from his duty and moves to the afterlife, while a new Chronicler is nominated in order to continue with the work and care for the story of our lands."_

 _Spyro looked up at Ignitus, as he continued his explanation. "By defeating the Dark Master, and saving the world, the previous era, marked by the darkness and the war, finally has ended, and so, a new one has begun, and so, another dragon was chosen to taken the mantle of the Chronicler during this new era." He looked down at the young dragon as he explained that. "Spyro, I have been chosen as the new Chronicler."_

 _Spyro looked up at him, his eyes wide in amazement. He could only look up at the dragon that he had always knew and admired, and see that now he was still an important person. However, at the same time that he felt amazed, he also felt somehow sad, for that meant that Ignitus was really dead, and that now his home was at the White Isles._

 _The mantle of the Chronicler, by what Spyro could understand, came with a sacred duty that, by what it seemed, would demand Ignitus total attention and dedication. That meant that Spyro was most likely never going to see him again, unless he could be called into dreams like that or could make the whole trip to the White Isles again._

 _That made the young dragon feel sad._

 _Of course, Ignitus noticed it and he didn't liked seeing Spyro sad like that. He approached the young dragon and placed a big paw on Spyro's relatively smaller shoulders. The young purple dragon looked up at him, and Ignitus smiled at him._

 _"My time in the world has already passed, young dragon." Ignitus told him, and he continued, "However, you made sure that my sacrifice was not in vain, and that the world has a brighter future for everyone. I'm proud of you Spyro, never forget that"_

 _Spyro looked at him for a few moments, and he was able to actually open a smile at the bigger dragon. Ignitus still had the way to cheer Spyro up and to make him feel better with the things he said. Spyro really admired him because of that, and he was glad that Ignitus still had ability make him feel better when he was sad or down._

 _Of course, this made Spyro feel sadder for he knew that Ignitus would no longer be there for him into the world of the living, still, he was happy that Ignitus made him feel better and that Ignitus was proud of him. That filled the purple dragon with a sense of happiness that made all of his other problems disappear and seem small._

 _However, this was fated to come to an end, as Spyro remembered that he had been called in there for a reason, and he wanted to know what it was. "Ignitus… You said you called me here?" The young purple dragon, and the bigger dragon looked down at him, at his smart purple eyes._

 _"Yes, Spyro." Said Ignitus, as he looked down at Spyro in the eyes, "About what you heard before you came here."_

 _Spyro immediately knew what Ignitus meant. He wanted to talk about what Spyro had heard Malefor saying. It was about the things that Spyro had heard from him, and about the things that made him think and that troubled his mind right before he got to sleep and woke up in that place._

 _The young purple dragon looked at Ignitus. The dragon who taught him nearly all that he knew, and who knew more about his past than Spyro himself, by what it seemed. "Is it true?" Spyro asked him, not wasting time into any other question and going straight to what he wanted to know._

 _"Malefor is really… my father?"_

 _Ignitus looked down at the young dragon, knowing full well how the truth would probably affect the young dragon. Still, he knew that, after all that he had been through, Spyro needed and deserved to know. It was finally time to tell him._

 _"Yes, young dragon." Ignitus told him, "Your egg was laid long ago, by a dragoness who we all knew that head been a story with the Dark Master. Of course, the birth of a purple egg only confirmed that suspects._

 _Spyro looked up at him, and Ignitus continued, "The egg was protected as any other egg, and it was taken in high regards when the prophecy came. Still, we knew that, since the purple dragons were said to be born only once in each ten generations, the egg would take a long time to hatch. So, the duty of watching over the egg and protected it was one that passed from one generat5iuon of Guardians to the other during all this time._

 _Spyro looked up at him, as one of his suspects was confirmed. The Guardians indeed knew the truth._

 _Spyro lowered his head, looking at the ground, and he asked in a sad voice. "Why you never told me?"_

 _Ignitus let out a long and heavy sigh, and he said, "The origins of the purple egg had to be kept in secret. If people knew that the egg was a offspring of Malefor, of course that they would feel inclined to treat it with mistrust and fear. Besides, we wanted to protect you from information that could very well hurt you."_

 _Ignitus was true to his words, and now thinking about it, they all made a lot of sense, and Spyro could not help but agree with what the former Guardian was telling him. Yes, of course that people would be scared if they knew that Spyro was the son of Malefor. They already mistrusted him enough due to him only having the same color. Also, Spyro didn't knew what he would think of himself if he was to know that he was the son of the Dark Master, the dragon that he himself was supposed to fight and defeat. Spyro was not sure if he would be able to do what he was supposed to do, or to even have will to get up at all._

 _Spyro sighed, and he asked, "So… what he said to Cynder… The story he told… It is true?" Spyro sounded more hopeful than anything else, and he looked up at Ignitus as if he truly expected an answer. The older dragon looked down at him, and he sighed._

 _"Spyro, as Chronicler, I get to know many secrets of the past, including some that I didn't knew when I( was still among the living." Ignitus said, and as he said that, a purple book floated and opened in front of him. Spyro looked at the cape, which was decorated with several symbols which Spyro didn't recognized._

 _"This is Malefor's book." Ignitus told him, "And in these pages, there is all of his story, recorded magically, just like the one of all living beings." He said, as the pages flipped in front of him, and Spyro continued to look up expectantly at him. "Among the pages of his past, it describes the nightmares he had, and the voices that induced his fall to the darkness, as well as the love of a dragoness that5 came very close of saving him from his fall, and the deep sadness and regret that plagues his soul as he was stuck into his own nightmare." Ignitus said, and he was not confirming to Spyro that Malefor's words and story were, indeed, the truth._

 _This should make Spyro feel better. The purple dragon knew that, still, for some reason, he didn't felt as better as he knew that he should. There was a lot going through his head, and the young purple dragon didn't knew exactly how he should take it all, for it as all very sudden, and Spyro had absolutely no idea of what he should do now._

 _Ignitus noticed it by the way the purple dragon was still looking at the ground, seeming to be sad. The new Chronicler believed that it maybe could be his fault, for he was the one who, long ago, agreed into keeping the secret of the origins of Spyro, and who also made his fellow Guardians agree with him. Ignitus did it to protect Spyro, to save him from the suffering that could come with this revelation, both from other people as for the purple dragons own feelings regarding something so important. Now, Ignitus believed that they should have revealed it to Spyro as soon as he was age enough to understand, for that way, they could at least have helped the young purple dragon to understand it and to deal with all that it brought to him._

 _Ignitus hated himself for not ever even considering the idea of making Spyro ready to this kind of discovery. However, he knew full well that now it was too late for this. The past could to be undone, and that was a truth that the Chronicler knew better than any other living being. The only thing that Ignitus could do at the moment was to try to make Spyro feel better, and to help him have the strength to move on and be ready to what the future had in store._

 _"Young dragon." He said, as gently as it was possible, "I know that you are passing by something very hard." Spyro looked up at him, and the former Guardian looked down at him, "All these discoveries, it is not something that should be taken lightly in the life of someone. I'm terribly sorry that we all had kept secrets like that from you during so much time, and I wish I could go back and change it, but that is a thing that is beyond anyone's power."_

 _Ignitus sounded very sincere as he spoke that he wanted to go back and change it, and Spyro knew that the big dragon of fire only had in mind what was the best for everyone. Maybe that was why Spyro didn't became as mad with Ignitus as he believed that he should. He only remained silent and let Ignitus speak, and speak the new Chronicler did to the young dragon._

 _"The past is now out of reach for us, so, we can only focus in the future. And in the future, some probations still wait for you." Ignitu7s continued, and the young purple dragon looked up at him as he spoke._

 _"Malefor has suffered as much as any other person with what happened, but you might be sure that there will be many people who might not see it that way." That was something that Spyro surely didn't doubted. "He is still suffering and he is almost at the verge of giving up his own life."_

 _"Spyro, Malefor was no responsible for his actions, and you know as well as I that, if he was killed by these terrible deeds, knowing all that you know now about him and his story, I know that you would not think it to be fair, would you?"_

 _Ignitus didn't even needed to ask. Now that Spyro knew the whole story, no matter how much he tried, he could not get himself to hate the dragon that was once knew as "The Dark Master", for he knew that he did not turned evil for his own choice, just like Cynder. If he suffered because of that, Spyro only knew that it would not be fair. He knew in his heart._

 _Still, there was the doubt in him, "What should I do?" he asked to the greater dragon, and as he did, Ignitus looked down at him, "Spyro, what does a son must do for his father?" That was all that the dragon said, right before the world around Spyro started to turn into mist._

 _"Don't forget it, Spyro." Was the last thing that Spyro heard Ignitus said, before the dragon and the library all melted into white mist, and Spyro once more felt like he was falling._

* * *

Spyro slowly felt himself waking up, the memories of the dream he had still fresh in his mind. No… it was much more than just a dream.

Spyro opened his eyes, and he blinked as he saw himself back into the cave. The tiredness in his body and mind had somehow receded, and Spyro was indeed feeling a lot better. He got up, maki8ng the leaves covering him fall off his body, and he looked around.

The fire that had been lighted into the previous night was out, snuffed by some dirty threw over it. And now, Spyro could notice light coming from the outside, telli8ng him that the day had risen once more.

The young purple dragon looked around, and he saw Cynder coming back from the outside. She probably did not expected to see him awake, for she had a surprised look in her face when she saw him standing. The purple dragon looked at her, and she said "Spyro…"

The young purple dragon was looking at her, and he got up and walked into the ground, stretching his body as he felt the morning soreness leave his limbs. He looked at her worried face, and he said, "I'm fine… I'm feeling better now."

Cynder nodded at him, and she looked back at the entrance behind her, and she looked like she was really nervous about something, and Spyro knew what it was. "He is outside, isn't he?"

This caught Cynder a little off guard, and she could only stare surprised back at the young purple dragon. Malefor was just outside the cave, and she did not expected Spyro to know that. Still, the purple dragon only assured her as he told her that it was okay and soon, they were both walking outside.

Once outside, they saw the much older and bigger purple dragon in there, sitting in his haunches as he looked at the distance, as the sky was painted with the classic colors of the dawn. Spyro stood next to him, with Cynder right behind him, and the older dragon, as if noticing him there without even looking, simply said.

"You look much better."

Spyro looked up at him, and he could only sigh, and there was a long silence, before Malefor got up in all his paws, and he said, "I have to take you two back home now." He looked at Spyro, and their purple eyes met each other, and there was a long pause, before Malefor finally forced himself to look another way, and he said, "You better get ready, we are setting off as soon as possible. You feel good to fly?"

Spyro looked up to him, and he flapped his wings, "I guess so."

"Good." Malefor said, "So we all better get ready. We have a long way ahead to Warfang."


End file.
